Computers have become widely adopted for various applications, for both personal and corporate use. The wide user base includes many users who rely on information technology (IT) support services, typically referred to as customer support or a “help desk.”
Available resources for IT support services are often limited. Nevertheless, as users take advantage of networking and mobile computing capabilities, requests for IT support services can come from users physically located either in nearby or distant locations. In general, computer networks include an information channel (e.g., Ethernet, RS-232, or wireless local area networks) through which two or more computers can communicate messages. The ability to connect to a network from a wireless laptop or handheld computing device enables users to remotely communicate with other computers from across a desk or from a different continent.
One type of problem that can involve IT support services is often referred to as a computer “hang-up.” Hang-ups generally refer to a condition in which a program (either an application or part of the operating system) stops performing its expected function and also stops responding to other parts of the system. Often the offending program may simply appear to freeze. A computer hang-up may result from any number of error conditions that can occur in the central processing unit (CPU) or associated support device, such as a network interface adapter, for example. Hang-ups can originate, for example, from defective or mismatched components, electro-static discharge, bugs in drivers or other software, memory fragmentation, software component loading errors, or a combination of these or other sources.